I Moved Closer To Him
My Association With Him
(Image Courtesy: Google )
It was 14th June, 2026. I got an opportunity to perform on the stage of my school, where my academic and musical journeys started together more than two decades ago. I was excited and nervous at the same time because I was about to perform in a live event on stage after four long years.
I had already registered for that event a few days earlier. Other competitions were being organised that day because of the commencement of the Raja festival, which is celebrated throughout Odisha to honour womanhood. It’s a three-day festival in which women wear new dresses, swing on swings, and eat Odia delicacies prepared at home. I am proud to be a part of this rich and beautiful culture where Mother Earth is worshipped for being menstruating.
After the completion of the competitions, there was a musical event where participants would perform their favourite songs.
I rushed to the stage to participate in that musical event. As the comepetitions which were organised took more time than expected, the organising team had removed the names of a few participants, and mine was one of them. I was disheartened upon knowing this and stood near the stage silently, praying to the Lord to give me a chance to perform then. This was a special occasion for me to perform on the stage of my very own school where I had spent my beautiful childhood days.
After a few minutes, the host started calling out the names of the singers who would perform on stage, and to my surprise, none of them were available or present then. As I was standing near the stage, the host suddenly reached out to me and said, “Lord Jagannath wants you to start this program with your Bhajan, and you are the luckiest person today because no one is available for singing right now. So, I am providing you a chance to start this show with your bhajan dedicated to lord jagannath.” I did not have any words to utter then. I simply nodded my head and thanked lord jagannath from the bottom of my heart. I proceeded to the stage to perform.
My mother was there with me to capture my performance. I was recollecting my memories of my first-ever performance on the same stage, where my father was cheering me, sitting in the audience when I was merely five years of age.
I was feeling nostalgic and shivering at the same time, holding the microphone after a gap of many years. I closed my eyes and remembered his glorious face, and most importantly, his “Chaka Nain”. Then I mustered the courage to start singing.
I sang fearlessly for three minutes. The display in the background of the stage showed the images of Lord Jagannath, representing his omnipresence in my life.
He is holding my hand and would not let go, even if the whole world turns against me; this is what I pray for from the bottom of my heart.
I moved closer to him that day, and my faith in him strengthened more, that whatever he did and is doing for me will be in my favour, even if I am unable to decode that at present.
P.S: I am sharing the link to my performance here:
SWETA SARANGI
23–08–2026
